


Don't Take Enemies For Friends

by Sparklez112



Category: The Next Step
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Season 2, Team as Family, The development Amanda deserves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 14:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20116918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparklez112/pseuds/Sparklez112
Summary: After loosing the solo round against Michelle at Nationals, Amanda feels herself being pulled in every direction as she struggles against the guilt she feels for letting down her team as well as hurting The Next Step.





	Don't Take Enemies For Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Since Amanda's been off the show for a while, there's been a lot less content out there with her in it. Her character really helped me during my low self-esteem preteen years and I really feel like I owe it to her to make sure her legacy lives on.
> 
> Amanda deserved so much more development then what she got after her redemption happened. I hope this story does her justice.
> 
> (Also, Kate is acts like an adult in this story and doesn't irrationally dislike Amanda.)
> 
> Set during Season 2, Episode 33: Danger Zone.

“Good going. You really did it.”

Lucien’s sarcastic words felt like a slap in the face to Amanda after she walked off stage with her trophy.  
Her team shook their heads disapprovingly. 

_I let everyone down._

Ever since losing her solo to Michelle, Amanda couldn’t shake the crushing guilt she felt. Because of her, Elite wouldn’t be moving on in the competition. Because of her, all of the hard work they put in was completely ruined.

She looked down at her third place trophy to distract herself from the harsh stares surrounding her.  
On stage, she was happy to be receiving a trophy. She was proud of her improvement as a dancer and how far she had come since last year’s nationals. It meant that she was the third best dancer at the whole competition.

Now, looking at it just reminded her of how much of a let down she was.  
_Third best isn’t enough._

Amanda wanted to throw the trophy in an incinerator and watch it burn until it was a puddle of golden sludge. It was just a reminder that she wasn’t good enough and would _never_ be good enough. 

She couldn’t take it anymore.  
Lucien’s words, the team’s judgmental looks, the devil in her own mind.  
She needed to do something, _anything_, to take control of the situation.

The dance captain rushed out of the wings, making her way into the hallway of the auditorium. Since most of the teams still present were watching the award ceremony, it was pretty easy to find an empty rehearsal room.

Silently, she slipped through the door and took in the space.  
It was a pretty small room, with a few mirrors and a bench along the back wall. Amanda was grateful for the chance to be left alone. 

Stepping towards the bench, she set down the stupid trophy as well as her phone. She went into her playlist and found ‘Not Another Love Song’ before getting into the starting position of her solo.

Usually, dance is a healthy way to deal with feelings.  
Most dancers can recall a time where it helped to channel their emotions into a dance to get everything out of their system. 

But there’s always a point where things become toxic. 

Amanda danced her solo, putting everything she had into the movements.  
Then she danced again.  
And again.  
And again. 

Sweat dripped from her face and sopped through her hair. She started to feel dehydrated and dizzy, which made her push even harder.

Even when the room started spinning, when her body started aching all over she didn’t stop. At some point, tears started to blur her vision and she wasn’t sure if it was from the pain or from the guilt.

She deserved to feel both.  
Doing this solo again and again was kind of a torture. A cruel punishment to remind her what her mistake did to her team. It was a reminder she deserved to carry with her.

While doing her turn section for the four-hundredth time, the door creaked open.

“Amanda?”

The voice was familiar. Amanda couldn’t see who it was in her current state, but the person didn’t sound angry. They sounded worried, almost.

She tried blinking to clear her vision, but it did nothing to fix the blurriness.  
“Who’s there?” Amanda’s voice was raspy, she hoped the person understood the question because she could barely make out her own words.

“Oh my god, Amanda.”

The girl didn’t answer, but opted to step closer and grab the dance captain’s hand to support her.  
Amanda probably would’ve pulled away if she didn’t feel like she was about to collapse. She could make out short brown hair and a bright blue uniform.

_It’s Riley._

A part of Amanda wished that she locked the door before starting to dance.  
A part of her was upset that her own team didn’t care enough to come and find her.  
A part of Amanda was glad that it was Riley who found her like this.  
A part of her was confused as to why Riley wouldn’t just let her rot in the rehearsal room after everything she’d done to her team and her sister.

Mostly, Amanda was too queasy to think any of those things because she was literally about to pass out.

Riley guided her over to the bench, sitting her down.  
“Drink this.”

A water bottle was placed into her grasp, and with shaky hands Amanda brought it up to her lips. Almost animalistically, she gulped it down as quick as she possibly could.  
“Woah, slow down.”

Riley tipped the bottle back down. The blurriness was starting to disappear from her eyes and she could finally see the concerned look on her former teammates's face. She finished the last few drops of water, and set the bottle down.

“Riley…”

Her voice was back to normal, but she had no idea where to start on what to say.  
_Why are you here?  
Why do you care?_

Riley smiled softly, but her worry lines didn’t disappear. “Better now?”

“Yeah… Thank you.”

“What were you doing just now?”

Amanda shrugged, turning away. Her chest rose and fell harshly since she was still out of breath. “It- it doesn’t matter. You should probably get back to the award ceremony. I’m sorry.”

Riley shook her head. “You could’ve seriously hurt yourself. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”  
For some reason, more tears formed at those words. The dance captain choked back a sob, trying her best not to cry and embarrass herself.

Riley reached for Amanda’s hand. “Look, I know we haven’t gotten along the best before. No matter what you’ve done, you don’t deserve to be feeling this way and I want to help.”

“No, Riley,” she wiped her face clear of the stray tears, “You don’t understand. I do deserve it.”

“_No one_ deserves to feel this way. Maybe at Elite they think differently, but in reality when someone’s hurting like this, you help them.” 

Riley’s eyes met Amanda’s. “Talk to me. Please.”

This was completely new territory for Amanda.  
She was so used to keeping things inside, to shut out all of her emotions until all that was left was an empty shell.  
Would she even be able to properly express herself?

She was going to try. Riley deserved that much.

“I feel… hopeless.”  
Amanda paused to swallow.  
_Get it together._

“I love my team more than I can say. I’ve let them all down, if I would’ve just been good enough-“ 

She paused, shaking her head. “But Michelle deserved to win. What they did to her wasn’t fair. I don’t really know what to think anymore…”

Riley nodded along. “You’ve done a lot for your team, Amanda. I think they expect things from you that are wrong to expect. They shouldn’t be making you steal things to better their own chances, and they shouldn’t expect you to cheat to win. You were up against Miss National Soloist, and you lost. There is nothing else that you could’ve done. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

They were words that Amanda desperately needed to hear.

“Elite is my family. I don’t think they see me the same way…”

Riley ran a hand back through her short locks. She opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by another voice at the door.

“AMANDA!”

The dance captain flinched at Lucien’s booming voice. He was followed by an entourage made up of Tess and Shauntel.

_Great._

Amanda was quick to get up off the bench. They outnumbered her, she was not going to let them have a height advantage too.  
She was still a bit dizzy but stood her ground.

“You have the nerve to lose your solo and then not show up to the award ceremony? Some pathetic excuse of a dance captain you are.”

If Lucien’s words hurt before, they now felt like she was being been pelted in the face with a bunch of bricks.

Lucien was like a second dad to her. He trusted her with guiding the team, he taught her personally, he even let her choreograph sections of their dances…  
And what changed? All because she lost one solo, she was worthless now?

From beside her, Riley narrowed her eyes.  
She wasn’t going to let her interfere with this. Riley already witness enough because of her, and she wasn’t about to let this be added to the list.

“Riley, you need to go back to your team now. I’ll be fine, but you being here is going to make things worse.”

“But-“

“LEAVE, Riley!”

Amanda didn’t mean to aggressive, but she was honestly just happy that Riley got the hint and scampered out of the room.

The dance captain turned back to her team. She was scared, but wasn’t going to let it show. Crossing her arms over her chest, she shot back “Aren’t the awards held up right now? What’s it even to you guys?”

Tess butted in. “This whole trip, you’ve been an awful teammate. Why did we even make you dance captain? You’re a disgrace.”

Amanda’s blood was boiling. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

“I’ve been an awful dance captain?! I’m the disgrace?! Who infiltrated a whole studio just so our team could have a better chance? Who spent hours learning two sets of routines? Who took three busses after rehearsal at The Next Step to help with choreography and to help the other dancers pick it up? It was me! Everything I’ve ever done has been for you guys, because I care so much about you guys. Elite is my whole life. It’s my home-”

The dance captain stopped talking. Tears were coming on again.

She couldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

“It doesn’t matter what you did,” Shauntel spat, “It wasn’t enough. We lost all because of you.”

Lucien took an intimidating step forward. Amanda felt surrounded.  
She felt completely powerless.

“We gave you every single opportunity to help us, and you blew it. We let you into our family and you’ve betrayed us. I don’t think that the Dance Captain title fits. Amanda the failure suits you more, I think.”

Tess’ and Shauntel’s laugh rang in her ears. Lucien joined in, and Amanda could feel her whole world crumbling to the ground.

_I betrayed them.  
I’m a failure._

When the tears started flowing, she knew she was done for. There was a reason she was never vulnerable, especially at Elite:  
When you give them what they’re looking for, they don’t stop attacking until you’re on the floor.

“She lost two years in a row! That’s a failure if I’ve ever seen one.”

“She’s crying. You’re pathetic, I can’t even believe you used to lead us.”

“She held us all back. Obviously her dancing didn’t get us anywhere…”

“Stop, _stop!_” Amanda pleaded quietly.  
She wished she could’ve just blacked out earlier instead of having to be present in this moment right now. 

Lucien didn’t listen to her cries. “The failure’s going to have to do a lot to make it up to us. Isn’t that right, girls?”

Tess and Shauntel both nodded to back the studio head up.

When Amanda didn’t respond, he continued. “Do you really think you’ll make it out there without us? You’re dancing isn’t getting you places, as you’ve demonstrated at this competition. You’re nothing without Elite, and you should be grateful we’re giving you a road to redemption at all.”

_Nothing.  
I’m nothing._

“Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

If there was anyone on earth Amanda didn’t expect to see, it was a familiar blonde studio head who probably hated her guts.  
“Do you really think that this is acceptable behaviour coming from an adult? You should be ashamed, Lucien.”

Kate walked into the room and positioned herself between Amanda and her tormentors. Riley, who also returned, took a spot beside the Elite dance captain.

“Kate,” Lucien smiled. It wasn’t genuine in the slightest. Amanda took this pause in the action to wipe her face clean.  
“I’m just putting one of my dancers into perspective. You do that all the time, it’s a studio head’s responsibility!”

One of _my_ dancers.  
Amanda’s heart fluttered, a sign of hope for her and Lucien’s relationship.  
As much hurt as he caused her, there was always going to be a part of her that wanted his approval…

Kate, on the other hand, was fuming. She wasn’t having any of this.

“Are you out of your mind?! You’re manipulating a sixteen year old dancer’s emotions for your own benefit! Have you completely lost grip on reality?”

Amanda spent enough time around Lucien to know when he was getting annoyed.  
“Let’s go, girls. Back to awards.”

He made a move towards Amanda, trying to grab her hand to guide her away. Kate blocked his movement.

“She’s not going anywhere with you.”

The only thing on Amanda’s mind was _how is Kate being so nice to me right now? I almost bankrupted her!_

“Hey, it’s her decision.” Lucien backtracked.  
“Your team is waiting, Amanda. Your family is waiting.”

Between Lucien’s beckoning stares and Tess’ and Shauntel’s hopeful glances, she was more confused than before when she was still processing things.

Elite was always her home.  
She spent years with these people. They helped her grow as a dancer and she helped them grow in return.

Riley put a supportive hand on her shoulder as she came to her decision.

“I love you guys. Shauntel, Tess… Lucien. But I don’t deserve to be treated this way, and I can’t support what you guys do anymore.”

Lucien’s face turned into a frown as he started to leave with his other two dancers in tow. She almost reconsidered for that alone, but with Riley’s hand on her shoulder she stayed strong.  
Just when she thought things were over, Lucien marched back into the room. He pushed past Kate and harshly grabbed at Amanda’s shoulders.

She tried squirming out of his hold, but he stared into her eyes which froze her.  
“You’re making a huge mistake. You’re nothing without Elite.”

Kate pushed him away. “Out. NOW. Before I call the police.”

Relief washed over them all when the Elite members finally left.

Kate’s voice was so gentle. “Amanda… are you alright?”

Her throat got tight again. This emotional rollercoaster felt never ending.  
This time, she wasn’t crying because she was ashamed.  
This time, she was crying because she felt free.

She found herself sobbing into Kate’s shoulder, Riley squeezing her hand supportively. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”

Amanda didn’t know how long they were like that, but when she looked up again she was surrounded by people in blue outfits all huddled around her protectively.

“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. Lucien is not allowed to treat you that way.” Kate said.

Riley added on. “You’re an incredible dancer Amanda. You have so much to offer the dance world, and it’s wrong for them to make you feel like Elite is all your good for. It’s not true at all.”

The former Elite member glanced around the room. Everyone from The Next Step was there, except for Emily, Eldon and Hunter. They were all smiling real smiles, ones that didn’t look like they could snap into anger at any second.

_Despite everything, they aren’t mad.  
That’s how a true family acts._

“I don’t know what to say, guys… I don’t know what I did to deserve this.”

Michelle stepped forward, making herself stand out from the crowd. “You shouldn’t have to deserve to be supported. It should just be a given.”

A chorus of “yeah’s” echoed through the room.

“It’s been a been a bumpy road.” Kate acknowledged. She swept loose strands of brown hair away from Amanda’s face.  
“But moving forward, we’d love for you to be a part of The Next Step. Maybe we can teach you what it truly means to be a family.”

The dance captain was speechless.  
“I’d… I’d love that.”

The team all leapt forward, everyone sharing a big cheesy group hug.

_This whole time, I’ve been so caught up in carrying out Elite’s plan that I didn’t see what was right in front of me._

_A true home, with people who love me.  
And who I love in return._

Over West’s shoulder, Amanda spotted her third place trophy still on the bench where she placed it.  
She’d never felt more proud.

**Author's Note:**

> Now go on and win the finals at Nationals, you crazy kids!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed. I'm up for a TNS discussion in the comments if anyone wants to tell me their favorite characters/seasons/moments. This show was such a huge part of my life I can't even explain it.
> 
> Catch you guys soon!


End file.
